Unlikely Hero
by XxX.Rent-Head.XxX
Summary: Jo gets captured durning a simple job of finding and killing a madman who was out on the streets, murdering people. With Meg on the job to rescue Jo, can she do it...before it's too late?
1. Captured

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bakuten. So sad, nani?

**Author's Notes: **Okay, this is my first fic on this account. I'm gonna make it count! Okay, reviews are appreciated! They're like gold for an online writer. D So, enjoy, but review with motivation. I don't want to have to quit…again…

* * *

Meg slowly awoke, eyes focusing on the blue sky above her. Sitting up, ever so slowly, she flinched, the pain on her back and the back of her head excruciating. Rubbing it slowly and hesitantly, she got to her feet, swayed slightly, and leaned against the steel wall beside her to gain balance.

Something to the left caught her eye, and she slowly turned in it's direction, one hand resting against the wall.

Her eyes widened. Slowly, she made her way over to the object, kneeling in front of it, surveying it with her eyes.

At long last, she picked up a perfect envelope, not damaged in any way. The smooth, cool paper felt good against her hands, which were burning from firing her pistol.

Using her index finger, she tore open the top. She pulled out a piece of light orange paper, unfolded it carefully, and reading it. Her eyes widened with each word:

_If you ever want to see your friend again, you will come to the given address ASAP, because if you don't make it in time, it'll be too late. Don't bother tracking her; we threw all her electronics in the river on the outskirts of the city. Don't be late, now. _And then there was the address.

Meg slowly read and reread the letter. At long last, her phone rang. With shaky hands she answered. She was relieved to hear Sei's voice on the other end of the line.

"Meg? Are you all right? Where's Jo? She doesn't answer any of my transmissions!" the leader asked, worry caking every edge of her voice.

Swallowing hard, Meg responded after a few long, silent moments. "Jo's not here. She's been captured."

She took the silence on the other end of the line as an opportunity to hang up.

* * *

Amy's outraged cry was the first thing that rang in the redheaded cowgirl's ears when she walked through the door of the trailer.

"What! Jo got _captured? _This isn't supposed to happen!" she screamed shrilly, pulling on her light brown pigtails. "You're the one who's supposed to get captured!" She pointed to Meg, finally releasing her pigtails.

Meg looked at the floor in embarrassment and shame. Did she get captured all that often? It just happened so much, that she was used to it, or she forgot about past hostages because of the newer, more terrifying ones.

"Who's going to save her?" she asked after Sei had given up her spot on the couch, given meg hot water to soak her feet in, and a heating pad for her back.

Sei remained silent for a moment before saying, "You are, Meg. We don't have any other choice."

Paling to a deathly white color, Meg felt her mouth become dry and arid. At last, she inquired thickly, "When?"

"Tomorrow."

"Why so soon? I'm sore, I have three broken ribs, and you expect me to go save Jo against…against…this thing!"

Sei let out an annoyed sigh, and said, "We don't have a choice. Did you read the letter? '_If you don't make it in time, it'll be too late.' _Remember?"

She couldn't argue on that one. Leaning back against the heating pad, Meg remained silent for a few minutes. Amy and Sei stared at her with such intensity; she felt it even though her eyes were closed.

Finally, she opened her eyes, looking up at them, and said, "Where are Jo's extra guns?"


	2. Jo

**Disclaimer: **I. Do. Not. Own. Bakuten. --;

**Author's Notes:** Okay. This chapter is going to be short. It's about Jo, her surroundings, and a meeting with her captor.

NOTE- rated PG-13 for minor gross details.

* * *

Pain was the first thing that screamed in her mind when Jo awoke. She didn't open her eyes, not until the burning sensation beneath her skin subsided. At long last, her crimson eyes opened, blinking until they adjusted to the darkness.

And what came into view horrified her.

Hanging from the ceiling from prodigious hooks were bodies. Some had a leg or arm cut off, replaced with a metal limb; few were cyborgs. And even though they seemed it, Jo somehow knew they weren't dead, even though none moved and a few swayed like lifeless dolls.

And that's when she realized that she was among them, hanging from the ceiling. Her wrists were rubbed raw from the rope that held them bonded behind her back. The thick, leather straps that were wrapped around her chest area sent more pain up through her spin, feeling the hook's edge against her back, where it was holding her up from a metal circle that was attached to the leather.

She also realized that she had been stripped of her guns and communication devices. She swore-

-or tried too. The gag in her mouth prevented her from making any sound at all. Except grunts.

So, she swore mentally. Her eyes decided to sweep the floor, which was covered with wires. Thick wires, thin wire, short and long, they were all there, leading up to a huge computer monitor with smaller control panels in front of it.

And a cloaked figure, a cool, baritone voice emerging from beneath the hood.

"Good morning, dearie. I was wondering when you were going to awaken." Two silver eyes gleamed from beneath the hood.

He pressed a button, which caused Jo's hook to move forward, toward him. Then it lowered her to his eye level.

"You were very difficult to capture. Almost got away. But, so sad, you didn't." A smile curled on his lips, even though she couldn't see it.

"Your yellow-clad friend tried to stop me. Easily took her out." A growl rose into Jo's throat, eyes narrow, glaring, hating-no, loathing him. "Don't worry. She only has three broken ribs, and a sore back." His smile faded.

"I bet you're wondering why you're here. But, even if you aren't, I'll tell you." Truthfully, she was wondering why he captured her. Why she was among all those bodies on the hooks dangling from the ceiling. "Because you are the perfect gunslinger. And you are my next masterpiece.

Jo growled again, but he turned, walking out of the room.

"Unless, of course, your friends care enough to get you." And then he was gone.


	3. The First Address and Riddles

**Disclaimer**: I am back! I changed my username…xP. So, I apologize for lack of updates. I'm going to try making this one really long, to make you peoples happy!

I own nothing; just volumes one and two of Project: BAKUTEN on DVD!

* * *

Her blue eyes stared up at the epitaph engraved upon the marble above the revolving doors of the New Tokyo International Bank. The letter she had picked up in the alley had told them that the first clue was located in a safe box inside the Tokyo International Bank.

But why make it so obvious?

Meg sighed softly. Sei, being the worrywart she was, made her go incognito. A white fur coat was pulled around her, normal clothes and holsters carrying Jo's spare Desert Eagles on her hips hidden. A funky cell-phone was what Sei had given her for communication; the kind where you hook the earpiece to your ear, and then clip the microphone on that, so all you had to do was push the little keypad with all the numbers on it. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun on the back of her head, hurting the roots that were attached to the skin of her skull.

"Meg," Sei told her through the earpiece, "Be discrete. We don't need a commotion."

"Right," the redhead responded, gulping nervously and hurrying into the bank.

Arriving at the counter, she blinked at the blonde-haired woman at the desk.

"Welcome to the New Tokyo International Bank! How may I help you!" She smiled broadly; it was like her lips were frozen into the huge grin. Meg shivered, and passed a key to the clerk.

"I need to get into safe box 983389," she told the clerk, flinching slightly.

"Of course! Follow me!" As if a board was stuffed into her clothing, the woman walked stiffly out from behind the counter and lead Meg into a room where there had to be thousands upon thousands of safe boxes.

After what seemed like an eternity, the woman pulled a sleek metallic box of the shelf and set it on the table, unlocking it and sliding open the lid.

"Take your time!" she said cheerfully, exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

Meg waited until the door was closed and then gagged. "Why couldn't you do this, Sei?"

"Because, you had the key." Right. They all had access to the key. But, that was Sei.

The safe box was filled with papers. She shuffled through a few, noticing most of it was pornography and making faces when she saw it. Finally, she shoved a few more pictures away, and noticed a manila envelope on the bottom with a big bold **M **on it. That was all she could see on the slick paper.

She gave a forceful tug and stared, wide-eyed at the thick piece of paper. On the front of the envelope, was written "**TO MEG" **in big, bold sharpie.

_They got Jo to talk, _she thought incredulously. _They got her to talk. _

Stuffing the papers back into the box, she slid it shut, left the bank, and then ran down the street to Sei's car.

* * *

"Open it, Meg," Amy pushed her, peering over the edge of the couch. This kind of thing never happened before; and instead of being furious at Meg, she was intrigued.

"Fine…" came the distant reply. She reached over and picked up the yellow paper and bent the two metal clips back and pulled open the top, dumping to contents of the envelope on the table.

"…What is it?" the eleven-year-old asked.

"Directions. To Jo's location…in riddles…" Sei murmured in response.

It was so. On a sheet of paper were small pictures of each location, paper-clipped to the riddle that described the address. They were toying with them. The men who captured Jo knew they wouldn't make it in time if they made them riddles, inside of a forthright answer.

"What are we going to do!" Amy wailed, burying her face in her hands.

Meg picked up the first picture, and tugged its riddle off. She read it:  
_Go to the square where the sky is blue, and it's as bright as day even at night. _

She read and re-read it a couple of times before she got a look in her eyes that told her she realized something. "Guys. It's the main square; the square in the center of Tokyo! The one where the sky always looks blue and it's bright all day because of the neon lights!" She looked at the picture. "And you can see the corner of the giant TV screen, and the corner of Kyohei's school!"

Sei took the piece of paper and read it. So it was. Looking up and smiling at Meg, she said, "Try the second one."

The second read: _Hide your weapons, dear maiden, because the hunting dogs with fangs of steal will not hold back for a beauty like you. _

"This one is RAPT headquarters. So from Shinjuku we go past RAPT headquarters…. then number three." She took the picture and riddle, peeling off the paper and reading it:  
_After the dogs comes the underground distance to the world with the ink-black sky and the blood red moon. _

She looked at the picture curiously for a moment. She knew the underground distance was the subway, but where was the place with the ink-black sky and the blood red moon?

Sighing softly, she read the riddle again. "…. I got it! It's the shortest route to Shibuya; the next riddle **is **Shibuya, and the last riddle…"  
_The railroad will lead you to your destination, a pharmacy where impossible things have happened and more are beginning. _Then there was a picture of a canyon with a burnt-down, dome-shaped building.

"Remember that? It's the Hinode Pharmaceutical headquarters. They took over the Hinode headquarters for their own!" Meg looked genuinely excited, and she was glowing with accomplishment.

"Let's put it together," Amy exclaimed, punching the air.

* * *

After hours and hours of staring at Amy's bunny and much arguing, they had the final instructions completed. They were as follows: 

_1) Arrive in Shinjuku.  
2) Go past RAPT headquarters.  
3) Go into subway that will take you to Shibuya.  
4) Get directions from there to the old Hinode building. _

So simple, but so complex. It was ingenious. And Meg, being the nail-head she was, knew it all along.

That night, after Amy was in bed, Sei and Meg were sipping coffee with a lemon squeeze to it, compliments of Kyohei. After he heard about Jo, he knew about the stress, and made them coffee before he left; not to mention an up-side-down cheesecake he made, and hid it from Amy; they each had a piece of that, but the rest was in the freezer.

"Tomorrow's the day," Meg said.

"Bring Jo's extra things; you use the handguns."

Meg stirred the coffee around in her cup.

Jo would be the glory girl once more…

…and Meg would be back in the shadows.

And for that, she wished she didn't have to save Jo.

* * *

MWUAHAHA!

I want to thank my faithful reviewers! There's only going to be two chapters after this, and then I'm moving onto my other fics. If you people want, you can read them; next is a Yu Yu Hakusho one. Anyways, thanks!


End file.
